The Hero Generation

I am writing to make a plea to YOU. Hundreds, thousands, millions of vulnerable children and their families are not making it. This dooms their futures and places an enormous drag on the rest of society. Our current answers to the social ills of our society are not working at scale to meet the need. We need a breakthrough in how to bring about meaningful change given the constraints of an increasing need and decreasing resources. You can be part of bringing about that breakthrough.

At a recent USC Price Graduate Policy Administration Community (GPAC) event in Los Angeles, I expressed my hope in the future generations to bring about change and said, “You are the Hero Generation. But, I call you the Hero-Uber generation because you are the generation that will save us as you create transformative and breakthrough solutions versus just rebuilding the same old institutions of society.”

GPAC is a student organization representing more than 400 Master of Public Administration (MPA) and Master of Public Policy (MPP) students with a mission of building a community of leaders dedicated to improving people’s lives. These students study an array of topics ranging from education to social justice to urban development, all of which need urgent attention. I am honored to be seen as a reflection of what USC Price students want to become.

The positive response I received from these students has inspired me to continue to spread the message about the need for the “Hero-Uber Generation” beyond USC. I want to reach out to other schools and the greater community across the country. This will be my first blog entry of many in which I will call upon YOU and The Uber-Heros to “Just Uber It.” I want you to ask yourselves, “Am I asking the disruptive questions?” “What breakthroughs do I want to see in the world?” I want to leave you with the hope that you are truly capable of making a difference in our communities. I look forward to diving deeper into some of my disruptive questions, and I hope you will join me in this important conversation. Stay tuned!